Wikipedia Will Go Dark On Wednesday to Protest SOPA | Care2 Causes

Wikipedia will be joining the blackout planned for Wednesday to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA), the two Congressional anti-piracy bills that are widely opposed by the tech community. Last week Reddit announced that it will be going dark from 8am till 8pm on Wednesday , January 18th, the day that House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) had called a hearing about SOPA. But, as of Saturday morning, Issa said that SOPA will be shelved and not voted on until “consensus” can be built. On Thursday, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the sponsor of PIPA, said he was open to changes about the DNS-blocking provision in the bill, another sign of politicians’ growing awareness of the extent of opposition to both bills. Both SOPA and PIPA aim to curtail online piracy by giving the Department of Justice new powers to shut down sites t...